Finian Hanley is looking forward to a fresh start with the Galway footballers under their new manager Alan Mulholland.

After a disastrous 2011 which saw them suffer relegation to Division 2 of the NFL and make early exits from the Connacht and All-Ireland championships at the hands of Mayo and Meath respectively, Galway are desperate to make amends in the coming months according to Finian Hanley.

The International Rules star, who has retained the captaincy of the Tribesmen this year, is hoping the appointment of fellow Salthill-Knocknacarra clubman Alan Mulholland as manager will lead to a revival in fortunes in 2012.

Mulholland becomes Galway's fourth manager in as many years, following in the footsteps of Liam Sammon, Joe Kernan and Tomas O Flatharta, and Hanley has stressed the need for him to be given time to put his stamp on proceedings.

"I hope Alan and his selectors Alan Flynn and Donal O Fatharta will get a decent run at it," he says.

"The past few years have been difficult with managers coming and going. It hasn't been good for the managers in question and it hasn't been good for the players either. A year isn't long enough for a manager to prove himself. It had got to the stage where we were changing managers just for the sake of it.

"What we need now is continuity and hopefully Alan will be given a fair crack at it. He played with Galway for 10 years and has won All-Ireland minor and U21 titles (2007 and 2011) as a manager. He also served as U16 manager and won a Ted Webb Cup with them, so the senior job is a natural progression for him.

"I know him well and I know how driven and ambitious he is. The general consensus around the county when he was appointed was that he was an obvious choice for the job. It's a fresh start for everyone and I've no doubt Alan will be a success if he is given a couple of years at it."

Hanley is excited about what the future holds for Galway football with young players of the calibre of Thomas Flynn, Keith Kelly, Michael Martyn, Adrian Murphy, Conor Doherty, Michael Boyle, Patrick Sweeney and Garry Sweeney all waiting to grab their chance. However, the 27-year-old Ulster Bank official is mindful of the fact that star underage players don't always make the cut at senior level.

"There's massive talent there. All you have to do is look at last year's U21 for proof of that. Apart from the All-Ireland semi-final against Cork, they were comfortable winners in all of their games.

"But the transition from U21 to senior isn't as smooth as you would expect. A lot of lads aren't able to make the step-up for some reason or another. We didn't get as many through as we would have liked after winning the All-Ireland U21 in 2005. Hopefully it'll be different this time. But there is a massive difference between U21 and senior, and last year's U21s have already found that out in the FBD League."

While star forward Michael Meehan continues to be sidelined through injury, midfielder Niall Coleman and attacker Nicky Joyce have returned to the fold after missing last season. Veteran Padraic Joyce is also expected to make his seasonal return before the spring is out.

"Padraic has a niggling injury at the moment, but we expect to see him back some time during the National League," Finian explains.

"It's great to see his cousin Nicky back and Niall Coleman as well. Niall will give us another option around the middle. Michael Meehan has had a tough time of it with injury, but he's working away by himself and hopefully we'll see him back soon also. The worse thing he could do is rush back."

With the National League upon us, the highly-rated full back is targeting promotion from Division 2, though he admits it won't be easily achieved.

"We'd love to bounce back after being relegated last year, but when you look at the teams in Division 2, it's every bit as daunting as Division 1. We have Derry away in our first game and you couldn't ask for a tougher start than that. And it won't be easy going to places like Meath and Westmeath either.

"We're aiming to get a few wins on the board and to get the confidence going again after a very disappointing 2011. I won't mind too much as long as we retain our status."

Hanley also has one eye on Galway's Connacht championship first round meeting with Roscommon in Hyde Park. The winners will face either Sligo or New York in the semi-final with Mayo likely to be waiting in the final for whoever comes through.

"We'll be doing well to come out of Hyde Park with a win," Finian acknowledges.

"Roscommon were Connacht champions two years ago and were only narrowly beaten in last year's final. But no matter what state Galway football is in, there is always an expectation among supporters of success in Connacht. We hope to do well, but a good run in the league between now and then is vitally important."

Finian has been Galway's first choice full back since 2005 when he starred for the U21s in their All-Ireland final victory over Down. His reputation continued to soar in 2006 when he was part of Salthill-Knocknacarra's All-Ireland club winning crew. He was named man of the match for his performance in keeping the St. Gall's attack at bay.

The holder of two Connacht SFC medals won in 2005 and '08, Hanley has represented Ireland in the 2008, 2010 and 2011 International Rules series. He was on the winning side in 2008 and 2011, and was vice-captain in 2010 when Ireland suffered a narrow defeat to the Australians after Test games in the Gaelic Grounds and Croke Park.

"It's always a great experience and great honour to play for your country. I've learned so much from playing with the best Gaelic footballers. We had a great time down in Australia at the end of last year, but now it's back to the hard slog again and I'm obviously hoping it will turn out to be a successful year for Galway," the Ulster Bank employee concludes. Tweet

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